Fiends
Overview Fiends are creatures of wickedness that are native to the Lower Planes. A few are the servants of deities, but many more labor under the leadership of archdevils and demon princes. Evil priests and mages sometimes summon fiends to the material world to do their bidding. If an evil celestial is a rarity, a good fiend is almost inconceivable. Fiends include demons, devils, hell hounds, rakshasas, and yugoloths. Lore Demon Lords The chaotic power of the Abyss Rewards Demons of particular ruthlessness and ingenuity with a dark blessing, transforming them into unique Fiends whose power can rival the gods. These demon lords rule through cunning or brute force, hoping to one day claim the prize of absolute control over all the Abyss. Reward for Outsiders. Although most demon lords rise up from the vast and uncountable mobs of Demons rampaging across the Abyss, the plane also Rewards outsiders that conquer any of its infinite layers. The elven goddess Lolth became a demon lord after Corellon Larethian cast her into the Abyss for betraying elvenkind. Sages claim that the Dark Prince Graz’zt originated on some other plane before stealing his Abyssal title from another long-forgotten demon lord. Power and Control. The greatest sign of a demon lord’s power is its ability to reshape an Abyssal realm. A layer of the Abyss controlled by a demon lord becomes a twisted reflection of that fiend’s vile personality, and demon lords seldom leave their realms for fear of allowing another creature to reshape and seize it. As with Other Demons, a demon lord that dies on another plane has its essence return to the Abyss, where it reforms into a new body. Likewise, a demon lord that dies in the Abyss is permanently destroyed. Most demon lords keep a portion of their essence safely stored away to prevent such a fate. Baphomet The demon lord Baphomet, also known as the Horned King and the Prince of Beasts, rules over minotaurs and other savage creatures. If he had his way, civilization would crumble and all races would embrace their base animal savagery. The Prince of Beasts appears as a huge, black-furred Minotaur with iron horns, red eyes, and a blood-soaked mouth. His iron crown is topped with the rotting heads of his enemies, while his dark armor is set with spikes and skull-like serrations. He carries a huge Glaive named Heartcleaver, but often hurls it into the fray so as to face his enemies with Horns and Hooves. Demogorgon The Sibilant Beast and the self-styled Prince of Demons, Demogorgon yearns for nothing less than undoing the order of the multiverse. An insane assemblage of features and drives, the Prince of Demons inspires fear and Hatred among Other Demons and demon lords. Demogorgon towers three times the height of a human, his body as sinuous as a snake’s and as powerful as a great ape’s. Suckered tentacles take the place of his arms. His saurian lower torso ends in webbed and clawed feet, and a forked tail whose whip-like tips are armed with cruel blades. The Prince of Demons has two baleful Baboon heads, both of them mad. It is only the Conflict between the two halves of his dual Nature that keeps the demon lord’s ambitions in check. Graz’zt The demon lord Graz’zt appears as a darkly handsome figure nearly nine feet tall. Those who refer to the Dark Prince as the most humanoid of the demon lords vastly underestimate the Capacity for evil in his scheming heart. Graz’zt is a striking physical specimen, whose demonic Nature shows in his ebon skin, pointed ears, yellow fangs, crown of horns, and six-fingered hands. He delights in finery, pageantry, and sating his decadent desires with subjects and consorts alike, among whom incubi and succubi are often his favorites. Juiblex The demon lord of slimes and oozes, Juiblex is a stew of noxious fluids that lurks in the Abyssal depths. The Wretched Faceless Lord cares nothing for Cultists or mortal servants, and its sole desire is to turn all creatures into formless copies of its horrid self. In its Resting state, Juiblex spreads out in a noxious mass, bubbling and filling the air with a profound stench. On the rare occasions when creatures confront the demon lord, Juiblex draws itself up into a shuddering cone of slime striated with veins of black and green. Baleful red eyes swim within its gelatinous body, while dripping pseudopods of ooze lash out hungrily at any creature they can reach. Lolth The Demon Queen of Spiders is the evil matron of the drow. Her every thought is touched by malice, and the depth of her viciousness can Surprise even her most faithful priestesses. She directs her faithful while she weaves plots across the worlds of The Material Plane, looking forward to the time when her drow followers bring those worlds under her control. Lolth appears as a lithe, imperious drow matriarch when she manifests to her followers in the mortal realm, which she does with unusual frequency. When battle breaks out—or if she has a reason to remind her followers to fear her—Lolth’s lower body transforms into that of a huge demonic Spider, whose spike-tipped legs and mandibles tear foes apart. Orcus Known as the Demon Prince of Undeath and the Blood Lord, the demon lord Orcus is worshiped by the Undead and by living creatures that channel the power of undeath. A brooding and nihilistic entity, Orcus yearns to make the multiverse a place of death and Darkness, forever unchanging except by his will. The Demon Prince of Undeath is a foul and corpulent creature, with a humanoid torso, powerful goat legs, and the desiccated head of a ram. His sore-ridden body stinks of disease, but his decaying head and glowing red eyes are as a creature already dead. Great black bat wings sprout from his back, stirring reeking air as he moves. Orcus wields a malevolent artifact known as the Wand of Orcus, a mace-like rod of obsidian topped by a humanoid skull. He surrounds himself with Undead, and living creatures not under his control are anathema to him. Yeenoghu Known as the Gnoll Lord and the Beast of Butchery, the demon lord Yeenoghu hungers for slaughter and senseless destruction. Gnolls are his mortal instruments, and he drives them to ever-greater atrocities in his name. Delighting in sorrow and hopelessness, the Gnoll Lord yearns to turn the world into a wasteland in which the last surviving Gnolls tear each other apart for the right to feast upon the dead. Yeenoghu appears as a huge, scarred gnoll with a spiky crest of black spines, and eyes that burn with emerald flame. His armor is a patchwork of Shields and breastplates claimed from fallen foes, and decorated by those foes’ flayed skins. Yeenoghu can summon a triple flail he calls the Butcher, which he wields to deadly effect or wills to fly independently into battle as he tears foes apart with teeth and claws. Other Demon Lords No one knows the full number of demon lords that rage in the Abyss. Given the infinite depths of that plane, powerful Demons constantly rise to become demon lords, then fall almost as quickly. Among the demon lords whose power has endured long enough for demonologists to name them are Fraz-Urb’luu, the Prince of Deception; Kostchtchie, the Prince of Wrath; Pazuzu, Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms; and Zuggtmoy, Lady of Fungi. Sub Types Demodands. ''' Also known as '''gehreleths, demodands were said to have been fashioned by one of the baernoloths, primal creations of Evil and exiled because of their chaotic taint. Demodands thought of themselves as the jailors and wardens of the entire population of Carceri and forced their idea of order onto them. They made no distinction between creatures like petitioners, who belonged in the Tarterian Depths, and others like travelers Demons Spawned in the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, Demons are the embodiment of chaos and evil—engines of destruction barely contained in monstrous form. Possessing no compassion, empathy, or mercy, they exist only to destroy. Spawn of Chaos. The Abyss creates Demons as extensions of itself, spontaneously forming Fiends out of filth and carnage. Some are unique Monstrosities, while others represent uniform strains virtually identical to each other. Other Demons (such as manes) are created from mortal souls shunned or Cursed by the gods, or which are otherwise trapped in the Abyss. Capricious Elevation. Demons respect power and power alone. A greater demon commands shrieking mobs of lesser Demons because it can destroy any lesser demon that dares to refuse its commands. A demon’s status grows with the blood it spills; the more enemies that fall before it, the greater it becomes. A demon might spawn as a manes, then become a Dretch, and eventually transform to a vrock after untold time spent fighting and surviving in the Abyss. Such elevations are rare, however, for most Demons are destroyed before they attain significant power. The greatest of those that do survive make up the ranks of the demon lords that threaten to tear the Abyss apart with their endless warring. By expending considerable magical power, demon lords can raise lesser Demons into greater forms, though such promotions never stem from a demon’s deeds or accomplishments. Rather, a demon lord might warp a manes into a Quasit when it needs an Invisible spy, or turn an army of dretches into hezrous when marching against a rival lord. Demon lords only rarely elevate Demons to the highest ranks, fearful of inadvertently creating Rivals to their own power. Abyssal Invasions. Wherever they wander across the Abyss, Demons Search for Portals to the Other Planes. They crave the chance to slip free of their native realm and spread their dark influence across the multiverse, undoing the works of the gods, tearing down civilizations, and reducing the cosmos to despair and ruin. Some of the darkest legends of the mortal realm are built around the destruction wrought by Demons set loose in the world. As such, even nations embroiled in bitter Conflict will set their differences aside to help contain an outbreak of Demons, or to seal off Abyssal breaches before these Fiends can break free. Signs of Corruption. Demons carry the stain of Abyssal corruption with them, and their mere presence changes the world for the worse. Plants wither and die in areas where Abyssal breaches and Demons appear. Animals shun the sites where a demon has made a kill. The site of a demonic Infestation might be fouled by a stench that never abates, by areas of bitter cold or burning heat, or by permanent shadows that mark the places where these Fiends lingered. Eternal Evil. Outside the Abyss, death is a minor nuisance that no demon fears. Mundane Weapons can’t stop these Fiends, and many Demons are resistant to the energy of the most potent Spells. When a lucky hero manages to drop a demon in Combat, The Fiend dissolves into foul ichor. It then instantly reforms in the Abyss, its mind and essence intact even as its Hatred is inflamed. The only way to truly destroy a demon is to seek it in the Abyss and kill it there. Protected Essence. A powerful demon can take steps to safeguard its life essence, using Secret methods and Abyssal metals to create an Amulet into which part of that essence is ceded. If the demon’s Abyssal form is ever destroyed, the Amulet allows The Fiend to reform at a time and place of its choosing. Obtaining a demonic Amulet is a dangerous enterprise, and simply seeking such a device risks drawing the attention of the demon that created it. A creature possessing a demonic Amulet can exact favors from the demon whose life essence the Amulet holds—or inflict great pain if The Fiend resists. If an Amulet is destroyed, the demon that created it is trapped in the Abyss for a year and a day. Demonic Cults. Despite the dark risks involved in dealing with Fiends, the mortal realm is filled with creatures that covet demonic power. Demon lords manipulate these mortal servants into performing ever greater acts of depravity, furthering the demon lord’s ambitions in exchange for magic and other boons. However, a demon regards any mortals in its service as tools to use and then discard at its whim, consigning their mortal souls to the Abyss. Demon Summoning. Few acts are as dangerous as summoning a demon, and even mages who bargain freely with devils fear the Fiends of the Abyss. Though Demons yearn to sow chaos on The Material Plane, they show no gratitude when brought there, raging against their prisons and demanding release. Those who would risk summoning a demon might do so to wrest information from it, press it into service, or send it on a mission that only a creature of absolute evil can complete. Preparation is key, and experienced summoners know the specific Spells and Magic Items that can force a demon to bend to another’s will. If a single mistake is made, a demon that breaks free shows no mercy as it makes its summoner the first victim of its wrath. Bound Demons. The Book of Vile Darkness, the Black Scrolls of Ahm, and the Demonomicon of Iggwilv are the foremost authorities on demonic matters. These Ancient Tomes describe Techniques that can trap the essence of a demon on The Material Plane, placing it within a weapon, idol, or piece of jewelry and preventing the fiend’s return to the Abyss. An object that binds a demon must be specially prepared with unholy incantations and innocent blood. It radiates a palpable evil, chilling and fouling the air around it. A creature that handles such an object experiences unsettling dreams and wicked impulses, but is able to control the demon whose essence is trapped within the object. Destroying the object frees the demon, which immediately seeks revenge against its binder. Demonic Possession. No matter how secure its bindings, a powerful demon often finds a way to escape an object that holds it. When a demonic essence emerges from its container, it can possess a mortal host. Sometimes a fiend employs Stealth to hide a successful possession. Other times, it unleashes the full brunt of its fiendish drives through its new form. As long as the demon remains in possession of its host, the soul of that host is in danger of being dragged to the Abyss with the demon if it is exorcised from the flesh, or if the host dies. If a demon possesses a creature and the object binding the demon is destroyed, the possession lasts until powerful magic is used to drive the demonic spirit out of its host. Demon True Names Though Demons all have Common names, every demon lord and every demon of type 1 through 6 has a true name that it keeps Secret. A demon can be forced to disclose its true name if Charmed, and ancient scrolls and tomes are said to exist that list the true names of the most powerful Demons. A mortal who learns a demon’s true name can use powerful summoning magic to call the demon from the Abyss and exercise some measure of control over it. However, most Demons brought to The Material Plane in this manner do everything in their power to wreak havoc or sow discord and strife. Devils Devils personify tyranny, with a totalitarian society dedicated to the domination of mortal life. The Shadow of the Nine Hells of Baator extends far across the multiverse, and Asmodeus, the dark Lord of Nessus, strives to subjugate the cosmos to satisfy his thirst for power. To do so, he must continually expand his Infernal armies, Sending his servants to the mortal realm to corrupt the souls from which new devils are spawned. Lords of Tyranny. Devils live to conquer, enslave, and oppress. They take perverse delight in exercising authority over the weak, and any creature that defies the authority of a devil faces swift and cruel punishment. Every interaction is an opportunity for a devil to display its power, and all devils have a keen understanding of how to use and abuse their power. Devils understand the failings that plague intelligent mortals, and they use that knowledge to lead mortals into Temptation and Darkness, turning creatures into Slaves to their own corruption. Devils on The Material Plane use their influence to manipulate humanoid rulers, whispering evil thoughts, fomenting paranoia, and eventually driving them to tyrannical Actions. Obedience and Ambition. In accordance with their lawful Alignment, devils obey even when they envy or dislike their superiors, knowing that their obedience will be rewarded. The hierarchy of the Nine Hells depends on this unswerving loyalty, without which that fiendish plane would become as anarchic as the Abyss. At the same time, it is in the Nature of devils to scheme, creating in some a desire to rule that eclipses their contentment to be ruled. This singular Ambition is strongest among the archdevils whom Asmodeus appoints to rule the nine layers of the Nine Hells. These high-ranking Fiends are the only devils to ever sample true power, which they crave like the sweetest ambrosia. Dark Dealers and Soul Mongers. Devils are confined to the Lower Planes, but they can travel beyond those planes by way of Portals or powerful summoning magic. They love to strike bargains with mortals seeking to gain some benefit or prize, but a mortal making such a bargain must be wary. Devils are crafty negotiators and positively ruthless at enforcing the terms of an agreement. Moreover, a contract with even the lowliest devil is enforced by Asmodeus’s will. Any mortal creature that breaks such a contract instantly forfeits its soul, which is spirited away to the Nine Hells. To own a creature’s soul is to have absolute control over that creature, and most devils accept no other currency in exchange for the fiendish power and boons they can provide. A soul is usually forfeited when a mortal dies naturally, for devils are immortal and can wait years for a contract to play out. If a contract allows a devil to claim a mortal’s soul before death, it can instantly return to the Nine Hells with the soul in its possession. Only Divine Intervention can release a soul after a devil has claimed it. The Infernal Hierarchy The Nine Hells has a rigid hierarchy that defines every aspect of its society. Asmodeus is the supreme ruler of all devils, and the only creature in the Nine Hells with the powers of a lesser god. Worshiped as such in The Material Plane, Asmodeus inspires the evil humanoid cults that take his name. In the Nine Hells, he commands scores of pit fiend generals, which in turn Command legions of subordinates. A supreme tyrant, a brilliant deceiver, and a Master of subtlety, Asmodeus protects his throne by keeping his Friends close and his enemies closer. He delegates most matters of rulership to the pit Fiends and lesser archdevils that make up the Infernal Bureaucracy of the Nine Hells, even as he knows that those powerful devils conspire to usurp the Throne of Baator from which he rules. Asmodeus appoints archdevils, and he can strip any member of the Infernal hierarchy of rank and status as he likes. If it dies outside the Nine Hells, a devil disappears in a cloud of sulfurous smoke or dissolves into a pool of ichor, instantly returning to its home layer, where it reforms at full Strength. Devils that die in the Nine Hells are destroyed forever—a fate that even Asmodeus fears. Archdevils. The archdevils include all the current and deposed rulers of the Nine Hells (see the Layers and Lords of the Nine Hells table), as well as the dukes and duchesses that make up their courts, attend them as advisers, and hope to supplant them. Every archdevil is a unique being with an appearance that reflects its particular evil Nature. Greater Devils. The greater devils include the pit Fiends, Erinyes, horned devils, and ice devils that Command lesser devils and attend the archdevils. Lesser Devils. The lesser devils include numerous strains of Fiends, including imps, chain devils, spined devils, bearded devils, barbed devils, and bone devils. Lemures. The lowest form of devil, lemures are the twisted and tormented souls of evil and corrupted mortals. A Lemure killed in the Nine Hells is only permanently destroyed if it is killed with a blessed weapon or if its shapeless corpse is splashed with Holy Water before it can return to life. Promotion and Demotion. When the soul of an evil mortal sinks into the Nine Hells, it takes on the physical form of a wretched Lemure. Archdevils and greater devils have the power to promote lemures to lesser devils. Archdevils can promote lesser devils to greater devils, and Asmodeus alone can promote a greater devil to archdevil status. This diabolic promotion invokes a brief, painful transformation, with the devil’s memories passing intact from one form to the next. Low-level promotions are typically based on need, such as when a pit fiend transforms lemures into imps to gain Invisible spies under its Command. High-level promotions are almost always based on merit, such as when a Bone Devil that distinguishes itself in battle is transformed into a Horned Devil by the archdevil it serves. A devil is seldom promoted more than one step at a time in the hierarchy of Infernal forms. Infernal Hierarchy 1. Lemure Lesser devils 2. imp 3. Spined Devil 4. Bearded Devil 5. Barbed Devil 6. Chain Devil 7. Bone Devil Greater devils 8. Horned Devil 9. Erinyes 10. Ice Devil 11. pit fiend Archdevils 12. duke or duchess 13. archduke or archduchess Demotion is the customary punishment for failure or disobedience among the devils. Archdevils or greater devils can demote a lesser devil to a Lemure, which loses all memory of its prior existence. An archdevil can demote a greater devil to lesser devil status, but the demoted devil retains its memories—and might seek vengeance if the severity of the demotion is excessive. No devil can promote or demote another devil that has not sworn fealty to it, preventing rival archdevils from demoting each other’s most powerful servants. Since all devils swear fealty to Asmodeus, he can freely demote any other devil, transforming it into whatever Infernal form he desires. The Nine Hells The Nine Hells are a single plane comprising nine separate layers (see the Layers and Lords of the Nine Hells table). The first eight layers are each ruled by archdevils that answer to the greatest archdevil of all: Asmodeus, the Archduke of Nessus, the ninth layer. To reach the deepest layer of the Nine Hells, one must descend through all eight of the layers above it, in order. The most expeditious means of doing so is the River Styx, which plunges ever deeper as it flows from one layer to the next. Only the most courageous adventurers can withstand the torment and horror of that journey. Devil True Names and Talismans Though devils all have Common names, every devil above a Lemure in station also has a true name that it keeps Secret. A devil can be forced to disclose its true name if Charmed, and ancient scrolls and tomes are said to exist that list the true names of certain devils. A mortal who learns a devil’s true name can use powerful summoning magic to call the devil from the Nine Hells and bind it into service. Binding can also be accomplished with the help of a devil talisman. Each of these ancient relics is inscribed with the true name of a devil it controls, and was bathed in the blood of a worthy sacrifice—typically someone the creator loved—when crafted. However it is summoned, a devil brought to The Material Plane typically resents being pressed into service. However, the devil seizes every opportunity to corrupt its summoner so that the summoner’s soul ends up in the Nine Hells. Only imps are truly content to be summoned, and they easily commit to serving a summoner as a familiar, but they still do their utmost to corrupt those who summon them. Yugoloths Yugoloths are fickle Fiends that inhabit the planes of Acheron, Gehenna, Hades, and Carceri. They act as mercenaries and are notorious for their shifting loyalties. They are the embodiments of avarice. Before serving under anyone’s banner, a yugoloth asks the only question on its mind: What’s in it for me? Spawn of Gehenna. The first yugoloths were created by a sisterhood of night hags on Gehenna. It is widely believed that Asmodeus, Lord of the Nine Hells, commissioned the work, in the hope of creating an army of Fiends that were not bound to the Nine Hells. In the course of making this new army, the hags crafted four magic tomes and recorded the true names of every yugoloth they created, save one, the General of Gehenna. These tomes were called the Books of Keeping. Since knowing a fiend’s true name grants power over it, the hags used the books to ensure the yugoloths’ loyalty. They also used the books to capture the true names of other Fiends that crossed them. It is rumored that the Books of Keeping contain the true names of a few demon lords and archdevils as well. Petty jealousies and endless bickering caused the sisterhood to dissolve, and in the ensuing power grab, the Books of Keeping were lost or stolen. No longer indentured to anyone, the yugoloths gained independence, and they now offer their Services to the highest bidder. Fiendish Mercenaries. Summoned yugoloths demand much for their time and loyalty. Whatever promises a yugoloth makes are quickly broken when a better opportunity presents itself. Unlike Demons, yugoloths can be reasoned with, but unlike devils, they are rarely true to their word. Yugoloths can be found anywhere, but the high cost of maintaining a yugoloth army’s loyalty typically exceeds what any Warlord on The Material Plane can pay. Being self-serving creatures, yugoloths quarrel among themselves constantly. A yugoloth army is more organized than a Ravening Horde of Demons, but far less orderly and regimented than a Legion of devils. Without a powerful leader to keep them in line, yugoloths fight simply to indulge their violent predilections, and only as long as it benefits them to do so. Back to Gehenna. When a yugoloth dies, it dissolves into a pool of ichor and reforms at full Strength on the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna. Only on its native plane can a yugoloth be destroyed permanently. A yugoloth knows this and acts accordingly. When summoned to Other Planes, a yugoloth fights without concern for its own well-being. On Gehenna, it is more apt to retreat or plead for mercy if its demise seems imminent. When a yugoloth is permanently destroyed, its name vanishes from every Book of Keeping. If a yugoloth is re-created by way of an unholy ritual requiring the expenditure of souls, its name reappears in the books. The Books of Keeping. When all four copies of the Books of Keeping disappeared, Asmodeus and the night hags lost control of their yugoloth creations. Each Book of Keeping still exists, drifting from plane to plane, where the brave and the foolish occasionally stumble upon them. A yugoloth summoned using its true name, as inscribed in the Books of Keeping, is forced to serve its summoner obediently. The yugoloth hates being controlled in this manner and isn’t shy about making its displeasure known. Like a petulant child, it will follow its instructions to the letter while looking for opportunities to misinterpret them. The General of Gehenna. Somewhere in the brimstone wastes of Gehenna, there roams an Ultroloth so strong that none Contests his power: the General of Gehenna. Many yugoloths Search for this great general in the hope of serving with him. They believe that service with the General of Gehenna grants power and prestige among lower planar entities. Whatever the case, no fiend finds the General unless the General desires it. His personal name is unknown, and even the Books of Keeping contain no mention of this powerful, thoroughly evil entity. Monsters Arcanaloth Babau Balor Barbed Devil Barghest Barlgura Bearded Devil Bone Devil Cambion Chain Devil Chasme Devourer Draegloth Dretch Erinyes Glabrezu Gnoll Fang of Yeenoghu Goristro Hell Hound Hezrou Horned Devil Ice Devil Imp Incubus Lemure Manes Marilith Maw Demon Mezzoloth Nalfeshnee Night Hag Nightmare Nycaloth Pit Fiend Quasit Rakshasa Shadow Demon Shoosuva Spined Devil Succubus Tanarukk Ultroloth Vargouille Vrock Yochlol Category:Monster Category:Lore Category:Fiend